Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says the decision to drop Andreas Pereira from the Manchester United squad is down to having positional cover.
Solskajer left Pereira out of the playing squad for the game against Watford on Sunday afternoon – just a few days after he had a midfield horror show against Club Brugge.
Pereira was one of the big negatives in United's 1-1 draw in Belgium.
And when the team news was released at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, Pereira was nowhere to be seen.
The decision was not because of injury – and Solskjaer claims that he is just ensuring that he has suitable cover on the bench for every position.
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Jesse Lingard also missed out on a place in the squad for the same reason.
"We picked a squad of 18 that we felt was the right 18 here," Solskjaer said.
"We have got cover on the bench with wide men, forwards, midfielders and defenders, so that was the decision I made.”
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Scott McTominay returned to the squad for the first time since he picked up his injury on Boxing Day, taking a place on the bench.
Solskjaer commended the attitude of the midfielder – but insists that he has to manage him correctly.
"It said everything about him that he played the full half with a torn ligament (v Newcastle), with no ligament!" he told MUTV.
"He’s recovered really quickly. He wanted to play today but we need to manage him properly as well"
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